Ten Quid
by Fantastic Nonsense
Summary: Set during and immediately after the final scenes of "Tooth and Claw". Rose reminds the Doctor of a certain bet made earlier in the episode. The Doctor protests. A half-fluffy piece dedicated to the Ten/Rose fans.


Hey guys! For any new readers, I'm Aubrey.

Okay, so I recently got into the Doctor Who fandom, and presto! Guess what I found? An endless source of plot bunnies for fics! Especially for half-fluffy ones like this one.

I wrote this yesterday after seeing Tooth and Claw for the...5th time? I typed it up today, and it's lucky that it's up so quick, what with all my homework and the play I'm in and whatnot.

So, anyway, this is set during the final scenes of 'Tooth and Claw'

Have fun! Oh, and don't forget to review! Reviews make for a happy writer, which equals more stories, which equals more reader happiness!

(Reviews=happy writer=more stories=reader happiness!)

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Ten Quid

They had just walked out the doors of the Torchwood Estate, leaning against them, waiting for the cart that was going to take them back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, eyes sparkling, as the cart pulled up into the cobblestoned courtyard.

"Sir Doctor," Rose said genially, offering her hand out to him.

"Dame Rose," he replied, entwining his hand with hers. Then, they both erupted into fits of laughter as they ran to the cart, the Doctor laughing because of what had just transpired hours before and Rose laughing out of sheer relief that they were both still alive and in one piece.

Rose thanked the driver profusely before climbing into the cart and settling herself beside the Doctor. She leaned her head back into the side of the wagon as she stared at the Doctor with a grin on her face.

"What?" he asked, unnerved by the staring and the sudden smile. It never ceased to amaze him how much influence she had on him. He had faced Daleks, Slitheen, an evil piece of skin with a face (twice), and now a werewolf and an irate queen without even flinching, but one look from her and he felt vulnerable. At her stare, he felt like his entire soul was open to him, and he felt like hiding in a dark corner every time it happened. He was disgusted with himself. How could one girl, a human no less, affect him so much? He loved the human race, he really did, but in the back of his mind, the little part of him that had always cared what the other Time Lords had thought of him recoiled at the thought that he might have fallen in love. Especially with a human.

"Guess what?" she sang in a singsong voice, startling him out of his thoughts. She turned to face him fully, a wicked smile on her face as she held out her hand palm up.

"Pay up, Doctor. Ten quid, for the bet is completed, and I have won."

The Doctor felt indignant for a moment. She had been staring at him for a minute and twenty-two seconds, making him feel strange, just because she had won the bet? _Well,_ he thought. _Two can play that game._

"But Rooosssseee, I don't have ten quid. You know that. I never carry money with me. You'll have to wait 'till we get back to the TARDIS."

Rose sighed, because she knew he had a point. They had often stopped on various planets to shop or eat on their various trips. Most of the time, they always had chips afterward. She always ended up paying, because the Doctor never carried money with him.

He _said_ it was because all planets had different kinds of currency, and because the planets the two of them went to were random at best, he said that he didn't want to be a walking pocketbook and carry around hundreds of types of money. Rose knew, however, that it was just that he took great fun in telling Rose that he had no money on him. Not all the time, but some of the time. He teased her about all the things she had bought on different planets.

That and the fact that he knew Rose always took enough money out of the 'money box' in the TARDIS for the both of them.

She glared at the Doctor. He shrugged at grinned at her as they continued to rumble along the small dirt road.

"Still, a deal's a deal," he admitted to her. "Right, ten quid. Soon as we get back on the TARDIS, the money's yours."

Rose nodded smugly, happy that she had won the bet. All those times she had tried so hard to make the Queen say it, Victoria just hadn't gotten it. That or they were running for their lives from a mad werewolf. She put her legs over the back of the wagon swinging them back and forth gently. She felt more than heard the Doctor shift to join her, setting himself beside her as he swung his legs over the back of the cart as well.

An awkward silence fell between them as the cart continued to plod along.

"Are you okay?" he asked her softly, breaking the silence. He had been studying her face for a while, and she looked troubled about something.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

The Doctor stared at her, not tricked for a second. He had known her for almost two years, and he had been watching her most of that time. Watching how she moved, how her tongue stuck partway out between her teeth when she laughed, how her eyes sparkled when she was happy, how they clouded over when she was sad or troubled, and a dozen other little things he had noticed about her during the time they had been together. He leaned forward and took her hand.

"No you're not," he said, frowning at her. Rose looked at him, and then shook her head.

"How is it you always know when I'm lying?"

He wanted to tell her that her eyes clouded over, the tips of her ears turned red, and her lips turned into the barest of frowns when she lied, but he didn't.

Instead, he replied with, "Because you're horrible at lying. To me, anyway," he murmured.

"I don't want to talk about it. Not now."

He nodded at her and leaned his head back to stare at the sky. He was surprised a second later to feel Rose's head on his shoulder, a gesture that had happened before, but not often. He often told himself he didn't care, but he secretly treasured those moments, the seemingly secret ones with her head on his shoulder, both of them looking up into the sky. He resisted the urge to shudder.

"I'll tell you something, though," he said, trying to get his mind off his current train of thoughts. He turned his head to look down at her as she looked up at him. Her lips were so close to his, so tantalizingly close…

She stared into his eyes, the deep brown eyes that seemed to bore into her soul. The grin she loved so much appeared on his face as he looked down at her. He suddenly leaned away from her face, swallowing hard.

"What?" she said, her heart dropping at the sudden movement.

He had to think of something to say, something that wouldn't ruin the moment, but would get rid of all the tension.

"Queen Victoria, werewolf, knighted and banished in the same day! Same hour! That's got to be some sort of record!"

Rose giggled and she felt her spirits rise. He had ruined the moment, but he had lifted her mood in the process and for that, she both hated and loved him.

They talked about random things the rest of the ride. Planets they would soon go to, mostly. Finally, they saw the TARDIS in the distance, a big blue box silhouette against a field of tall grass and a gorgeous sunset. The cart stopped and the two time travelers hopped off. Rose briefly thanked the driver again before turning back to her conversation with the Doctor.

"You know, the funny thing is, Queen Victoria actually did suffer a mutation of the blood. It's historical record. She was hemophiliac. They used to call it 'The Royal Disease.' But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it, it came from nowhere."

"What, you're saying it's a wolf bite?" She looked at him skeptically.

"Well, maybe hemophiliac's just a Victorian euphemism."

"For werewolf?"

"Could be."

She stared at him. They kept walking.

"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?"

"Could be. And...her children inherited the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip."

Rose laughed.

"So the Royal family are werewolves?"

"Well...maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take...ah...a hundred years, to mature. Might be ready by...say, the early 21st century?" She thought about it, then shook her head.

"Ah, that's just ridiculous. Mind you, Princess Anne..."

"Oh, say no more!"

"And if you think about it...they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They could schedule themselves around the moon, and we'd never know! And...and they like hunting. They love blood sports!"

The Doctor laughed at her implications.

"Oh my god! They're werewolves!" Rose yelled ecstatically as the TARDIS began to dematerialize.

She spun around the console room, happy to be back in the TARDIS, especially after all that had happened. She faced the Doctor, who was bent over some panel, tinkering with the circuits.

"So…" she trailed off, causing the Doctor to look at her with exasperation. She just wouldn't give up, would she?

"…Ten quid, please," she said, extending her hand. The Doctor looked up imploringly with those deep chocolate eyes of his, and she almost melted right there and then. She cursed herself for her weakness. Those eyes of his were just so damn sexy. It was hard to resist, but she forced herself to look away. Maybe she could make a compromise?

'_No,'_ she reminded herself strictly_. 'He owes me ten quid, and he's going to pay up, whether he wants to or not.'_

"Do I have to?" he whined. He was doing this just to irritate her, she knew. He wasn't that attached to money in the first place, so it was either his pride at loosing something for a change or he was doing it to annoy her. Probably little a little of both, but she was leaning more on the latter.

"Yes," she said firmly. "Ten quid, now."

He sighed and walked over to the box of money. Before he opened it, he suddenly swiveled his head around towards her.

"Can't we just go buy some chips? I'll pay and everything! That's surely ten quid, Rose."

She was so tempted. Sorely. But she shook her head.

"Hey, that was the bet. If I get Queen Victoria to say 'I am not amused,' you owe me ten quid. If she didn't, the other way around. Now, stop acting like such a baby and just give me the ten quid."

The Doctor grinned at her and pulled out the money from the box.

"I know, I was just playing with you. Seeing if you would relent. You're one tough cookie, Rose Tyler. That's a good thing."

He winked at her before clapping his hands and saying loudly, "Well, now that that's over, where in the universe shall we go next? Rodaria, perhaps? Oh, I know just the place! Olympia! The planet, not the city in Washington State. Planet was named in honor of all those ancient Greek gods and goddesses. Humans inhabit it at the moment."

Rose laughed. She thought for a moment before deciding.

"You know Doctor? I think I'll take you up on your other offer instead." Her eyes sparkled as the Doctor gaped, panic arising in his eyes for a split second.

"Which offer?"

"Chips. You, me, Earth, say….early 21st Century? Not London and definitely not Cardiff. Maybe Bristol? Never been there before. Always wanted to go, though. Mum never let me. Said it was _too dangerous_ for _her little girl_ to go there alone or only with Mickey."

The Doctor swallowed as his mind raced. Was Rose Tyler asking him out on a date? No, surely not. His thoughts were confirmed when she smiled wickedly.

"On you, of course. I'll make sure you've got some money with you, this time. You can do the paying Mr. High and Mighty Time Lord."

He suddenly laughed, the sheer absurdity of the last fifteen minutes getting to him. Arguing over a mere ten quid and then Rose asking him out for chips. Rose didn't get it, and he wasn't going to tell her.

"Alright then, Rose. Chips in Bristol it is. Hang on tight!"

The TARDIS spun around in the time vortex, bumping its two passengers around as it swirled. It came to a sudden stop that sent the two of them hurtling to the floor. Rose giggled as they got up. This was fun. This was her life. She couldn't imagine ever going back to what her life had been like before she had met the Doctor.

"Alright, Rose Tyler. Chips in Bristol, you and me. On me, of course."

"Of course," she grinned as she plunked down a two-pound note in his hand. "All on you."

He beamed as he stepped out of the TARDIS with Rose on his arm. Something good had come out of this trip, even though they had been scared half to death. Rose had been scared that the werewolf was going to kill them all and the Doctor that it was going to kill Rose. And the queen and the others of course. But mostly Rose.

The two had grown closer during that mad chase around the manor, and the events directly following it, and that was all that mattered to the Doctor right now. Growing closer and closer with the brilliant woman on his arm that he realized he loved. He would deny it aloud, of course, but it was there, hidden just beneath the surface. Pure, unbridled love and he admitted to himself, after the afternoon had passed, that he wasn't sure that he would be able to keep it from her much longer.

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And there we go. Originally, this fic was half its current size and ended as they walked into the TARDIS. But, just for my readers, because I love you guys so much, I extended it.

Now, be a good little reader and press the green button down there. Please review, because I would love to hear your thoughts on my little oneshot.

And now, I regret to say, it is time for me to say adieu.

See ya!

~Aubrey


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